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Highly Overrated But Still Good

An absolute waste of money

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

If there is one Documentary that everyone should have, let it be this one. I have seen this documentary several times on HBO and I was moved to tears. It is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. You can't help it to feel with those kids in Agape and it makes you angry because you can't do nothing about it. AIDS is no longer a big topic in our modern society, but in Africa it is a sad part of life. And the film brings this across in a very powerful and heart breaking way. Great job to the director!!! If you want to see it, buy the DVD and the CD with the wonderful songs of the children. This way you will also support them because the money of the sales go to the kids in Agape. A must see!!!!!!!

Slindile is a twelve year old orphan living with some of her brothers and sisters in the Agape orphanage in South Africa. The other siblings still live in the family home but had to give up the younger ones when their parents died and they did not have the money to feed all of the children and look after them. She now lives at the orphanage along with many other children who have lost, or been abandoned by their parents. Over several years this film follows the lives of those in the orphanage, with particular focus on Slindile, as they live their lives and also prepare for a trip to England to perform in order to raise money for Agape.I heard about this film on Shooting People and was pleased to see it get such publicity and a decent slot on terrestrial television recently. Watching it myself I must admit that the cynical bitter part of me (that'll be all the bits between the soles of my feet and my thinning hair) was prepared for the usual "African" fare of happy singing children, bright colours, bare feet and middle-class guilt. Forgive me this but on paper this is just what the film is but even those with hardest hearts will have to concede that the film is way more than just the clichés but is actually a challenging, uplifting and surprisingly hopeful film.With any documentary, the real work comes in getting the right subjects – particularly when you are making a film focused on a small group to illustrate a bigger story. Films can fall over by picking the wrong group or by focusing on the wrong people in a group, some of it is in the selection and maybe it can come in the edit if you have enough footage. Director Taylor doesn't really have this problem as he already knew his subjects from his time volunteering in a break from film school. He has already chosen his subjects and for him this is half the battle. That his subjects allow him to capture tragedy and loss as much as hope and happiness is down to them but it is all captured and brought together really well in the edit. The film wisely doesn't dwell on the issue of AIDS but rather just lets us see, through Slindile and her family, how it impacts just one family – the extrapolation of that it leaves to us to do from what we already know of the situation and the basic stats it provides at the end.It is compelling in both the sadness of it all but also the endless spirit of hope and survival that is maintained through everything. If I have a bad day at work I am useless in the evening, think how great about myself I felt watching this! Slindile is a great focal point because she is a beautiful girl but also one of those children who has their thoughts written on their face, the infectious smile is just another reason to love her. We see all this through her and she is a massive part in hooking the viewer into the reality of the situation – this film is not another "black people dying somewhere else" reports that we see so often on the news that it is practically just accepted as the way things are. The rest of the kids are great too but again it is not just about "cute kids" (although Mbali is undoubtedly the cutest child ever) but also the adults, as the film gives time to the elder siblings whose lot is not much better but whose spirits are just as strong.It is an impressive film from Taylor and really well pulled together by editor Hirakubo into an effective and engaging piece that gets the mix of emotions just right. Uplifting and challenging in equal measure – if you are not asking what you can do to help or where you can donate by the end of the film then there is genuinely something wrong with you. Simply put - a beautiful and moving film. www.wearetogether.org.

What do you do/feel/say when a sweet child recounts her heart-breaking personal circumstances . . .Aged 12, Slindile Moya explains in a matter-of-fact way that she is an orphan. One brother is dying. Her other brother and sisters live with her in a crowded orphanage. Jennifer Lopez posters adorn the wall.Before you can go, "ahhhh . . ." and reach for the hankies, she finishes her tale by looking up at you with the most heart-warming, charismatic smile imaginable. An infectious smile. A smile that comes from deep elation. It spreads like a glow inside me as I watch her in awe. A love of life that most of us, in our wealthier Western circumstances, merely dream of. An inspiration. A childish mischievousness. And a delight in something more solid in our ever-changing world. I think, here is a child who has practically nothing, and she's making me feel good about life.Indulge me - inhale deeply at the magic of existence, together, now.We Are Together is a film is about strong inner emotion. And using it almost like rocket fuel through misfortune. Filmmaker Paul Taylor is impelled to go to Africa - not to make a movie – but (at least initially) as a volunteer in the orphanage. Just following his feelings. The same as these children that don't learn to sing for fame and fortune. They feel like it. They learn for the joy of singing.A young girl raises her voice to intone words her mother taught her. It fills her heart with beauty, and her subsequent account with memories. Is it the film or is it her? I can't tell my childhood memories like that.African pop star Zwai puts the singing into a context of large families without music entertainment: "Singing is the one thing that everyone can do at once. We can't all speak at once, but we can all sing at once." It's an African thing apparently.All children at Agape home sing. Every day, after school. Speaking on camera or to the children there, Slindile explains that Agape is their orphanage. But to other kids, she takes pride in saying it is, "a place for children who sing". It makes you wonder for a minute - their dedicated vocal coach somehow gives them more than a maths teacher could.Paul Taylor returned from his vocational work at the end of his break from film school. He goes back to Africa after finishing his studies, spending three years filming with people he is already close to. Fairly early on, we become aware that many children's' parents have died from AIDS. "Does it ever cross your mind," the interviewer asks, "that your {older} brother might have AIDS?" She answers: "Yeah, I sometimes think of that, because it is usually the cause when someone is ill." (Side note: how many films about AIDS can you think of that are fun? Let alone one of the best feelgood films you'll see this year?) Eventually the older brother goes into the hospice. He is diagnosed as HIV-positive, given some vitamin B, and discharged. Siblings visit regularly. In one of the best scenes, the dying man raises himself from his bed long enough to correct them on small points of their songs. At his funeral they sing, "Sleep, our conqueror, and rest." A Jesus-warbling charity-worker from England suggests a music CD and a trip to England. She teaches them to sing, "Oh happy day, when Jesus washed our sins away." The trip to England falls through, but the South African pop singer helps the kids get the CD finished. And people take notice. This was the only fly in the ointment, for me, trying to get Jesus into the mix. This is not to deny the wonderful work done by Christian charities. Catholic organizations alone mercifully provide around 25 percent of the care AIDS victims receive worldwide. Yet it is maybe tempting to give credit to such agencies even though they also contribute to the problem. In 2003, President Bush declared he would spend $15bn on his emergency plan for Aids relief, but only if abstinence was emphasised over condoms. Religious fundamentalists, some financially supported by the US government, attack condom use. South African Cardinal Wilfred Napier even said there is "no evidence" that condom promotion works to prevent HIV transmission and that, as a contraceptive, condoms have a failure rate. A South African HIV advocacy group said his comments had set back the group's work "by years." But the work of more sensible, ordinary Christians is used to justify the excesses of Catholicism and Fundamentalism in the name of 'Jesus'.In Slindile's large family, only the oldest sister has a job. She worries about earning enough for food for several mouths. Both parents are dead. (A married woman living in Southern Africa is at higher risk of becoming infected with HIV than an unmarried woman. Abstinence and fidelity do not protect her; she is probably already monogamous. It is her husband who is likely to have HIV. Yet refusing a husband's sexual overtures risks ostracism, violence, and destitution. Abstaining from sex is not a choice many women have in the developing world. Preaching fidelity and abstinence assumes that a woman can determine with whom she sleeps and when — which is a severe misunderstanding of the relations between the sexes when women are sometimes betrothed at birth or sold for livestock.) We Are Together is one of those greatest of achievement – the success of human struggle.Profits from the film go to help the children.

I used to volunteer at Agape orphanage and this is a great and honest portrayal on life for these kids, with Zodwa. It is so good to see honest film making and not a generic copy of what the people will be more affected by. Myself and a lot of other people I know that worked at Agape were very scared about the outcome of this documentary, whether It would simply be used as a PR tool, or whether It would show the sadness and the joy in these children, the fears and the courage, the weakness and the strength. Whether It would Really show what these kids are like ????? But all my fears were put to rest !! I feel privileged to know these children that have been through so much. And I strongly recommend that you watch this movie - As its the most honest thing I have ever seen. Sometimes hard to watch - but unbelievably inspiring !! But as Ghandi once said "dont expect the world to change...simply BE the change you want to see in the world!"